Girl You Know It's True (song)
Encyclopedia
"Girl You Know It's True" is a song written by Bill Pettaway, Sean Spencer, Kevin Lyles, Rodney Holloman, and Ky Adeyemo. They recorded it as Numarx, but the song failed to make much impact until it was covered by Milli Vanilli
and released as their lead single from the album Girl You Know It's True
. It peaked at No. 3 in the UK charts in 1988 and at No. 2 in the US.
The song lyric skipped and repeated during a Milli Vanilli concert in Connecticut
, revealing a case of lip synching during the performance and setting off a wave of controversy for the group.
That controversy was later recalled when Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
ranked the song at No. 85 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "Turns out absolutely nothing about this [song] was true. Which sets up the question 'Couldn't [Milli Vanilli] have bought a better lie?'"
as seen Saturday mornings on NBC
.
12" maxi - Canada, U.S.
12" maxi - Germany, UK
7" single
' "Eternal Flame
". It became the first of five Top 5 singles for Milli Vanilli and spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
and released as their lead single from the album Girl You Know It's True
Girl You Know It's True
Girl You Know It's True is a 1989 album that was the U.S. debut of pop group Milli Vanilli.In 1989, the majority of songs from Milli Vanilli's Europe-only release All or Nothing were repackaged and retitled Girl You Know It's True...
. It peaked at No. 3 in the UK charts in 1988 and at No. 2 in the US.
The song lyric skipped and repeated during a Milli Vanilli concert in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, revealing a case of lip synching during the performance and setting off a wave of controversy for the group.
That controversy was later recalled when Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
ranked the song at No. 85 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "Turns out absolutely nothing about this [song] was true. Which sets up the question 'Couldn't [Milli Vanilli] have bought a better lie?'"
In popular culture
Milli Vanilli made a cameo appearance performing the song in an episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, based on the actual video gameSuper Mario Bros. 3
, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991...
as seen Saturday mornings on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Other cover versions
- The song was covered by CentoryCentoryCentory was a German 1990s eurodance/pop band of Gary Carolla, Alexander Strasser, Sven Kirschner, and Turbo B.Centory released one album Alpha Centory, in 1994. It featured the singles "Point Of No Return", "Take It To The Limit", "The Spirit" and "Eye In The Sky".Centory also remixed two songs,...
featuring Trey D.Trey D.Keith McGuffey, born in Danville, Kentucky, known by his stage name Trey D., is a songwriter and composer who became known mostly by his euro-rap style songs in the mid-1990s....
in 1996 and reached No. 50 on the German singles chart. - Keith DuffyKeith DuffyKeith Peter Thomas Francis John Duffy is an Irish singer-songwriter, actor, drummer, dancer and television presenter. He began his career as part of Boyzone in the 1990s. In the 2000s, he achieved critical acclaim for his acting roles, particularly in soap operas such as Coronation Street and Fair...
and Shane LynchShane LynchShane Lynch is an Irish singer-songwriter, actor and professional drift driver, best known for his distinctive body art, outlandish sense of style, and as a member of Boyzone...
of BoyzoneBoyzoneBoyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
in 2000, with the rapped verses taking verbal shots at rival boybands WestlifeWestlifeWestlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
and 5ive. - In 2007, a rap cover version was made by the German R&B duo Lemon IceLemon IceLemon Ice was a German musical duo of mainly cover versions of songs. It was made up of singer Geeno and rapper Jay Low. Both originated from Nuremberg....
made up of Gunther Göbbel [Geeno] and Jay Low. It reached No. 26 in the German Singles chart. - The Danish artist Burhan GBurhan GBurhan Genç known as Burhan G is a Danish R&B and pop singer, songwriter and producer of Kurdish/Turkish origin from Turkey. His father is Turkish origin and his mother kurdish origin. He has three albums including Burhan G in 2010. that was certified platinum in Denmark...
had a hit with a Danish languageDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
hit single "Jeg vil ha' dig for mig selvJeg vil ha' dig for mig selv"Jeg vil ha' dig for mig selv" is a 2009 Danish language song by Danish artist Burhan G that was a hit on Tracklisten the Danish official Top 40 singles chart, reaching number 8....
" that largely samples on the original song. Taken from his self-titled album Burhan GBurhan G (album)Burhan G is the third studio album from the Danish R&B singer Burhan G which was released on 12 April 2010 at Copenhagen Records. This is however his first Danish language album after two all-English language albums Playground in 2004 and Breakout in 2007...
, "Jeg vil ha' dig for mig selv" (translated as I want you for myself) reached No. 8 in TracklistenTracklistenTracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl...
, the Danish official Top 40 singles chart. (Burhan G Video)
Track listings
12" maxi - Australia, New Zealand, UK- "Girl You Know It's True" (NY subway mix)
- "Girl You Know It's True" (balearic mix)
- "Magic Touch"
12" maxi - Canada, U.S.
- "Girl You Know It's True" (super club mix) — 8:33
- "Girl You Know It's True" (G spot remix beats) — 6:22
- "Girl You Know It's True" (single version) — 3:48
- "Girl You Know It's True" (NYC subway mix) — 8:07
- "Magic Touch" — 3:47
12" maxi - Germany, UK
- "Girl You Know It's True" (super club mix) — 7:35
- "Girl You Know It's True" (radio mix) — 3:58
- "Magic Touch" — 3:22
7" single
- "Girl You Know It's True" — 3:58
- "Magic Touch" — 3:22
Charts and sales
"Girl You Know It's True" was a massive success in the United States, and peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending April 1, 1989, kept from the top spot by The BanglesThe Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
' "Eternal Flame
Eternal Flame (song)
"Eternal Flame" is a song by The Bangles from their 1988 album Everything. It became a hit single, when released in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in nine countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by popular songwriters Billy Steinberg and...
". It became the first of five Top 5 singles for Milli Vanilli and spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.
Peak positions
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 2 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles | 2 |
End-of-year charts
| Chart (1988) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 14 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Gold | June 7, 1989 | 50,000 |
| France | Silver | 1988 | 200,000 |
| Germany | Gold | 1988 | 250,000 |
| Sweden | Gold | November 7, 1988 | 10,000 |
| UK | Silver | November 18, 1988 | 200,000 |
| U.S. | Platinum | April 4, 1989 | 1,000,000 |
See also
- List of European number-one hits of 1988
- List of number-one hits of 1988 (Germany)